Interview with Ari Teitel

Q&A with Ari Teitel

Ari Teitel is a Detroit-born, New Orleans–based guitarist, singer, and composer known for his soulful, genre-blending style that combines funk, gospel, jazz, hip‑hop, blues, and psychedelic rock.

He began playing music at age 4 and was performing with legends like Robert Randolph by 11. After earning a degree in Jazz Studies from Michigan State, Teitel moved to New Orleans, quickly becoming a sought-after guitarist and collaborating with artists such as Ivan Neville, George Porter Jr, Nigel Hall, and members of Lettuce. He also served as musical director for Cha Wa, earning two Grammy nominations.

In addition to acclaimed acclaimed solo work — Unteiteled (2017) and I Got My Thing (2022) — Ari was recently drafted as lead guitarist in the powerhouse funk ensemble Dumpstaphunk, founded by Ivan Neville.

He also co-founded The Rumble featuring Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr., earning Grammy nods in 2023 and 2024, and is part of the organ trio Deitch Fribush Teitel (with drummer Adam Deitch (Lettuce, John Scofield) and organ master Sam Fribush (Hiss Golden Messenger), which released Another Side of the Sound in May 2025.

We caught up with Ari, and he shared his refreshingly grounded approach to music—from slow, intentional practice sessions and transcribing gospel records to crafting solos inspired by bandmates in real time. In this interview, Teitel talks gear, creativity, and the challenge of balancing the music with the business behind it, plus what’s next with The Rumble, Dumpstaphunk, and his new organ trio.

🎸 Q & A

What does your current guitar practice routine look like?

To warm up, I'll play along to records - often times gospel quartet records. If I have a performance that requires me to learn songs, I'll go over those. Otherwise I'll transcribe, work on improvisations, or tackle an aspect of my feel I want to improve on.

A lot of times I'll watch Ella Feingold's videos on Instagram or Patreon and work on whatever she's doing.

What's the best piece of advice you have for other guitar players?

Don't be afraid to take things VERY slow when practicing, and be patient with yourself.

What’s one technique, habit, or concept that helped you level up as a player?

Transcription and meditation.

What gear (guitar/amp/pedals) are you using lately—and why?

My new LSL Bad-Bone (basically a tele with humbuckers) has been in the rotation a lot. It can handle rhythm and lead playing well, and works well in both bands I do most of my touring with, The Rumble and Dumpstaphunk. Often times I have to fly between tours so I'm unable to swap out gear.

My Eventide H90 is a staple in my rig. It kind of fills in the blanks for any pedal I might not have, and allows me to dial in specific sounds. The chorus sounds are really cool on it.

Right now, my Port City AT100, lives in the Dumpstaphunk trailer. It's similar to a Twin Reverb circuit, but has an eminence 12" and 10" speaker. I replaced the bright switch with a cut knob, which allows me to precisely dial my high-end.

How do you approach creativity—writing, improvising, or building a solo?

Whatever and whoever I'm listening to permeates my playing, so I try to listen to as much good music as possible and allow it to inspire me. I try to listen to the musicians around me as much as possible.

If the keyboard player plays something cool, I might start a solo with what they just played, and let that guide what follows.

I've found if I can let go of preconceived notions and live in the moment, I play better.

What’s been your biggest challenge as a guitarist and musician?

Balancing time spent on music, and the business behind it.

What’s next for you musically—any projects or goals you're working on?

I just released an organ trio record with Sam Fribush and Adam Deitch. We've only played one live show but will announce more dates soon. The next Rumble album is in post-production, and will hopefully drop mid-2026. I'm writing for both of those projects as well as my solo project. I planned on starting a Patreon, but my travel schedule has been a little too dense to get that off the ground. Hopefully I'll get that going toward the end of the year.

⚡ Lightning Round

One album every guitarist should listen to?

Virtuoso - Joe Pass

Desert island guitar and amp?

ES-335 and a blackface Vibrolux

What guitarist should everyone know about?

Prince. I don't think people really realize how prolific of a GUITARIST he is.

Guitar Practice

Let's Learn a Progression

Let's learn a cool chord progression in C Minor. This is meant to be played in a loop.

It features a couple minor ii > V > i sequences. Am7b5 > D7#9 is a ii > V progression leading into Gm7, and the progression ends with Dm7b5 > G7#5, which is a ii > V sequence leading back to the top (Cm7).

This is best played fingerstyle.

Noteworthy

• Gibson released a Les Paul Music City Special - 50th Anniversary model. Features a poplar body, maple neck with a SlimTaper profile, striped ebony fretboard with 22 medium jumbo frets, chrome hardware, Grover Mini Rotomatic tuners, & 70s Tribute humbucking pickups. Offered in Tobacco Burst, Wine Red, & Ebony. MSRP is $1,799 USD.
• Greg Koch had guitarist Tyler Bryant on his podcast. They discuss his perspective on success, his production philosophy, and more. Apple | Spotify
• 📺 Rhett Shull featured 'the most original guitar player you’ve never heard of (Seth Lee Jones) on his YouTube channel.
• 📽️ Watch Julian Lage improvising on a Josh Williams Guitars Mockingbird.

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